Happy Pawlidays!

From me and my pets to you and yours...

Ho Ho Honey

For many years we've taken Rusty with us to the Toluca Lake Holiday Open House, which happens the first weekend of December. All of the businesses along Riverside Drive stay open and many offer treats and warm beverages. There's a tree lighting, bagpipers, Santa Claus and more. Many of the restaurants give out delicious samples and you can always count on Trader Joe's to share some pfeffernüsse.

We typically dress Rusty up in his Santa outfit. This year, we decided to bring Honey along and found an old sweater and holiday scarf of Little Guy's for her to wear. She kind of had a Mrs. Claus vibe going. They were quite popular and were photographed quite a bit. I didn't bring my camera, so wanted to capture the cuteness when we got home before going in and removing the costumes.

The results were less than stellar and the one above is about the best one I got. As is par for the course, I had a hard time capturing Honey in a moment of stillness. Below is how most of the photos turned out. Rusty, posing like a good little dog, and Honey, a blur of constant motion!

Honey was superbly behaved during our outing. We weren't sure how she would do as the festival is always very crowded. She handled herself quite well and didn't bark even one time. (That's a feat, people). I thought for sure that she'd flip over the Great Dane we ran into or maybe even the bagpipes. She wasn't thrilled with very loud drums, but just hurried up her pace a little instead of freaking out.

This funny little dog might be a spaz, but she is also quite loveable. Honey definitely knows she is part of our family and genuinely seems to be happy. She was ecstatic when I recently returned home from vacation, which pleased me to no end.

Hopefully, we'll be able to trust her one of these days to not eat any random item she encounters, such as socks, hair elastics, flash drives...

Happy Christmas

Little Guy and Cosette still don't really like each other, but now that they are old they don't bother quibbling so much. They would have never shared a blanket in the past. Makes me happy.

Rusty went nuts all day with a chewie that Santa Paws brought for him. He frantically searched for a place to hide it throughout the day. Actually, he's still looking, now in the back yard.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Do You Believe In Magic?

It all started some 14 Christmas Eves ago. We'd moved to L.A. a couple of months before and were cozy in our Burbank apartment, which bordered Toluca Lake. I think we were watching tv--probably A Christmas Story or something, when all of sudden we heard quite a ruckus. We knew it was way too early for Santa to be stopping by and besides, the noise was far greater than a few tiny reindeer paws clickity-clacking on the roof. The way I describe the sound was that it was like a "football game." Like a stadium full of people going completely nuts when their hometown team has scored the game winning touchdown. Really. It was THAT loud. We ran outside and were greeted by a big, bright semi truck with lights and colors and music and people singing. It was shocking and AMAZING all at once. It was our first introduction to The Magical Christmas Caroling Truck.

Some may remember me mentioning it before this. It's no secret that I tend toward being a bit bah-humbuggy this time of year. I think that has a little to do with all of the pressure to be the opposite and I tend to be contrary. I'll admit it can be A wonderful time of year, but the MOST wonderful...give me a break. For me, it reminds me of things like financial constraints, family that I rarely see, and having a job that allows little to no time off. The commercial and religious aspects bug me. Granted, I am extremely grateful to have a job (especially right now), some family and many friends close by, a roof over my head, etc. I guess the point is that The Magical Christmas Caroling Truck is one of the few holiday traditions I hold near and dear and really look forward to. It's so much fun and everyone participating is clearly having a blast. It's awesome to see so many neighbors pour into the streets with their hot cocoa and spirits. It feels warm and fuzzy and dare I say...magical.

Our friends who live a few houses down from us have thrown a Christmas Eve bash for many years now. It's quite festive and usually a drunken good time. Last year, one of the regulars made various signs for us to hold up to cheer on and thank the carolers. Above is Rusty, who went to the party briefly, and me with our sign. The people with the truck got quite a kick out of our group's enthusiasm. I hope we do it again!

So yeah, I'm not done with shopping and my small, fake tree is not up, but the one think I am ready for is The Truck's visit to our neighborhood. If you aren't doing anything exciting next Wednesday evening, you can check out the map of the truck's route and come see if for yourself.

Best.Gift.Ever

Starting with one of my favorite photos that I took of Rusty a couple of years ago, E treated it in Photoshop to make it look a bit like a painting, made an enlarged print, and matted it and framed it himself. It's gorgeous.

This One's Real

Ami, my real hamster, modeling a craft Santa hat.

Yay! It's Christmas!

Merry Xmas!

The Night Before Christmas

We practiced some of our Christmas Eve traditions yesterday. No trip to Solvang, but that was a choice. I had to work on Saturday, which made the weekend a bit shorter. I spent the afternoon making cookies and then we had dinner at an Asian buffet. We took the cookies, as well as some cocktail weenies, over to our neighbors' annual gathering. There was lots of food, lots of alchohol, and much laughter. Their Christmas Eve party centers around one of the strangest, yet most fun, holiday traditions we have...The Magical Christmas Caroling Truck.

Imagine a semi truck, completely decked out with Christmas lights, booming holiday songs. There are people on the truck singing and others walking with the caravan. There's a group of girls who dance behind and Santa Claus himself follows in a train. It just wouldn't feel like Christmas without it. My neighbor, Erik, took some video this year, so check it out. It really is pretty cool to have this come around every December 24th.

I hope Santa was good to you this year!

Merry Holidays!

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas or Happy Whatever. This old scrooge here is getting a bit of last minute holiday spirit. I don't know...maybe it's that I have two whole days in a row off. It could be the cold air and the fire we've been building every night. Or possibly the cookie dough I just made up in anticipation of baking for a Christmas Eve party.

I even got inspired to put up a tree. It's not my small tree that I sometimes like to fill with ornaments from my childhood. It's a tiny centerpiece I acquired at a party a few years ago. It's predecorated, so I just strung some lights and there you go. Christmas cheer.

I intended to send out some e-cards, but it doesn't look like I'll get around to that. Thank you to those of you who have sent cards, cookies, gifts. I think I have thanked you individually and if not, I definitely will.

So, enjoy the next few days with your friends and family. I enjoy being in town this time of year as the city kind of empties out and slows down.

Here's MY Christmas Gift To You

The now most-blogged-about SNL skit in a long time...uncensored: